This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This oatmeal raisin bread has become one of our family’s favorite breads. It is delicious with soft, moist crumbs and easy to make without kneading.
If you have been looking for an easy yet delicious oatmeal raisin bread or just plain oatmeal bread, I strongly suggest that you try this recipe out. I’ve been making this bread weekly. The family loves them for breakfast. I have made sandwiches like PB, Jelly and banana sandwiches, turkey cheese sandwiches, and other savory sandwiches. You may think it’s weird with the raisins, but the bursts of sweetness from the raisins complement the savoriness.
Ingredients and substitutions
1. Old-fashioned oats
Old-fashioned oats or rolled oats are the best for this recipe. I haven’t tried quick-cooking oats yet, but I think it may work too. If you try it out with quick-cooking oats, please report back on how it turns out for you
2. Unbleached all-purpose flour
I prefer using unbleached all-purpose flour, especially for bread making. It gives the bread a better structure and a bit higher rise compared to bleached all-purpose flour
3. Whole wheat flour
Whole wheat flour is also known as wholemeal flour in other countries. You can also use white whole-wheat flour. I haven’t tried using it myself, but it’s great for people who don’t like whole wheat flour.
4. Milk
A little bit of milk is called for in this recipe. I use 2% milk. You can use non-dairy milk too
5. Honey
Honey is added to add a bit of sweetness, but not too much, but it gives a great flavor to the bread. You can substitute with agave nectar
6. Oil
I don’t recommend cutting down on oil. It is there to help keep the crumbs soft. You can use any neutral-tasting oil like avocado oil, grapeseeds oil, canola oil, or oil of your choice
7. Salt
I use fine sea salt
8. Instant yeast
If you use active dry yeast, you need to dissolve the yeast in a bit of water first and let it bloom for 5 minutes before preparing your dough
9. Raisins
You can use golden raisins or omit them altogether if you don’t like them. You can substitute with other dried fruits like craisins, finely chopped dried apricot pieces, etc.
No-knead Oatmeal Raisin Bread
Ingredients
Soakers:
- 80 g old-fashioned oats
- 50 g milk I use 2% milk
- 35 g honey
- 35 g oil
- 135 g warm water
For the dough:
- 325 g unbleached all-purpose flour
- 108 g whole wheat flour
- 140 g water or more as needed
- 10 g salt
- 5 g instant yeast
- 80 g raisins
Topping:
- old-fashioned oats
Instructions
- This recipe is written for 9 x 4 x 4 inch loaf pan. For recipe adjustment using different size of loaf pan, please see my post below
Prepare the soakers (can be done the day before):
- Put all ingredients for soakers in a bowl or a container. Let them soak for a minimum of 2 hours or as long as 24 hours.
- The mixture will be a bit gooey
Prepare the dough:
- Combine all the ingredients for the dough, except for the raisins, in a large mixing bowl. Add the soakers.
- Use a sturdy spatula to stir everything to combine into a very rough dough. Make sure everything is hydrated and no dry flour bits. If the dough is too dry, you can add a bit more water. It should form a ragged dough. Cover and let it rest for 20 minutes
3 sets of stretch and fold every 20 minutes:
- After 20 minutes, perform the first stretch and fold. Lightly wet your fingers, scoop and grab the edge of the dough from the bottom and gently wiggle it up to stretch it as far as it allows you to (don't force it and tear the dough).
- Then fold over to the center. Repeat this with the next edge. You can probably do about 4 stretches and folds for this first round. You may not be able to stretch much, but don't worry. It will get more and more elastic as time goes
- Round it up into a dough ball with the smooth side up. Notice how much smoother the dough is now with some rest and just that first set of stretch and fold. Cover the dough again and rest for 20 minutes
- Scatter 1/2 of the raisins on top of the dough
- Perform the same stretch and fold with your wet fingers. Scoop and grab the edge of the dough from the bottom and gently wiggle it up to stretch it as far as it allows you to. Then fold over. You will notice that the dough is more taut and won't stretch as much. But you can probably still do about 3-4 stretches and folds. The raisins won't be perfectly distributed yet, but they will
- Round it up into a dough ball again. Cover it back again and rest for another 20 minutes. Scatter the rest of the raisins on top of the dough and repeat the same step above.
- This is our last set of stretch and fold
Proof the dough:
- Cover the dough and let it proof at a warm place until doubles in volume, about 1 hour or longer, depending on the temperature where you are
Shaping:
- Lightly dust your work surface. Transfer the dough on it. Use your hands to flatten the dough and push out as much air as you can to deflate the gas. Flatten the dough into about roughly about 10 x 10 inches
- Fold the two upper corners of the dough down.
- Then bring the center down
- Use the heel of your hand or your fingers to seal the seam
- Continue to roll down and seal the seam with the heel of your hand until you form a log shape
- Pinch the seams to seal
- Scatter about 1/4 cup of oats on a work surface.
- Mist the top of the dough with some water and press the surface of the dough on the oats, rolling a bit back and forth to make sure the oats stick to the dough
Final proofing:
- Lightly grease the 9 x 4 x 4 inches Pullman loaf pan. You can also bake this in a 9 x 5 x 2 3/4 inches loaf pan. This gives you a shorter but wider loaf of bread
- Place the log inside the loaf pan. Push the dough down to fit the pan and to even out the dough
- Cover and let the dough proof until it is about 1-inch above the rim
Baking:
- 10 minutes before the end of final proofing, preheat the oven to 350 F (180C) for conventional oven, 330 F (165 C) for convection oven
- Put the pan in the oven's middle rack. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the bread is lightly golden brown. The internal temperature at the center of the bread should be at least 190 F (88 C)
Cooling:
- Gently wiggle the bread out of the pan and let it cool off on a cooling rack completely before slicing the bread
How to store:
- Let the bread cool down completely. You can keep them in an air-tight container for 3 days. They can also be kept frozen for up to 1 month in the freezer
*Nutrition facts are just estimates and calculated using online tools*
How to adjust the recipe for different pan sizes
If this is your first time making this recipe with Pullman loaf pan, I suggest baking without the lid first to figure out how the dough fills the pan after baking. The type of flour you use and hydration affect how much the dough rises too.
1. For 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.6 inches loaf pan, you can 0.73 x the recipe
2. For 9 x 5 x 2.75 inches loaf pan, you can 0.87 x the recipe
3. For Asian small Pullman loaf pan 7.5 x 4 x 4.4 loaf pan, you can 1.2 x the recipe
4. For large Pullman loaf pan 13 x 4 x 4 inches loaf pan from USA Pan, you can 0.92 x the recipe
Did you make this no-knead oatmeal raisin bread recipe?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag it to show me what you’ve made. Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
